The Royal Succession

The Accursed Kings, Book 4

By: Maurice Druon

Narrated by: Peter Joyce

“This is the original Game of Thrones.” George R.R. Martin.

'No woman shall succeed in Salique land'

Louis X is dead, poisoned, murdered, by the hand of Mahaut d’Artois. Her plan is simple – to clear the path to the throne for her son-in-law Philippe. However, there is the small matter of Queen Clemence and her unborn child.

As the country is thrown into turmoil, Philippe of Poitiers must use any means necessary to save his country from anarchy. However, how far is he willing to go to clear his path to the throne and become King in his own right?

©1957 Maurice Druon (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

‘Iron kings and strangled queens, battles and betrayals, lies and lust, the curse of the Templars, the doom of a great dynasty – and all of it (well, most of it) straight from the pages of history, and believe me, the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and Plantagenets. Whether you are a history buff or a fantasy fan, Druon's epic will keep you turning pages. This was the original game of thrones’
GEORGE R.R. MARTIN

‘Blood-curdling tale of intrigue, murder, corruption and sexual passion’
SUNDAY TIMES

‘Barbaric, sensual, teeming with life, based in wide reading and sound scholarship…among the best historical novels’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

I can't find this author's next book fast enough..

I cannot find this author's next book fast enough....I feel like I know his characters well.

As wonderful as the first ones.

It was a grand story. The book was Beautifully narrated. Pure joy to read. Highly recommended.

Great stories, acceptable narration

Love the intrigue and conniving in these stories and maybe even a little bit of history? The narration is energetic but I feel every character was a stereotype, all the women sounded like whining hags, and sometimes the voices got confused. Still worth the listen

Mahaut Continues To Be A Likeable Human Being.

If you could sum up The Royal Succession in three words, what would they be?

Power. Temptation. Ham.

(The last of these being generously served up by the Artois duo, in their never-ending battle over that damned county.)

What other book might you compare The Royal Succession to and why?

Off the top of my head, the previous three books of the series.

After that, and probably to the surprise of no one, George R. R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire. There are several differences however. I think the two biggest ones are that the characters here are less realized and that the universe is more chaotic, as Druon had to work around real events.

Which character – as performed by Peter Joyce – was your favorite?

Philippe The Tall. These books have several arcs going at the same time, but Philippe's increasingly hard choices is the main story of The Accursed Kings 4. Personally I found him the most sympathetic non-victim character in the book (either him or de Bouville). He lacks the petty self-absorption of most of the other characters, while still having kept his brains.

Next is Robert of Artois, for entertainment value.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was.

Never Bored

Fourth in the series and never bored for a moment. That this is non-fictional detracts nothing from the intriguing and highly entertaining stories that intertwine throughout the 6 book narrative. Narrator excellent. Highly recommended.

Simply exquisite

I feel like this series has reached its peak of political drama at the second half of this book, loved it